NBA Finals Game 4: Miami at Dallas (June 7)
Brendan Haywood was activated before the game, but was only able to play 3
minutes due to his strained right hip flexor. It was reveled after the
game (or during the game for those watching on TV) that Dirk Nowitzki was
playing with a cold - a fever and sinus infection. Coach Rick Carlisle
made a change to the starting lineup (and was very unhappy that the lineup
change leaked before the game) and started J.J. Barea instead of DeShawn
Stevenson. A number of reasons were speculated for the change, but (based
on Carlisle's post-game talk), wanting to give Shawn Marion (who played 43
minutes in Game 3) more rest and being able to bring a defensive player
(Stevenson) in for Marion was probably the key.
Nowitzki scored the first 6 points of the game and then Chris Bosh scored
the next 6 points and the game was tied at 6-6 with 7 minutes remaining
(Miami did open the game shooting 1-10 FG, but improved their shooting
after that point). The game stayed close and a nice pass from Jason Terry
to Tyson Chandler for the dunk gave Dallas a 12-8 lead with 4:50 to go,
but Dwyane Wade was fouled on a push and a putback by LeBron James again
tied the game at 12-12 with 4 minutes left. And the game stayed close as
3 points would be the largest lead the rest of the quarter. 2 free throws
by James gave Miami their first lead at 21-19, but Barea hit 2 free throws
with 6 seconds left and the game was tied at 21-21 after 1. Miami only
shot 7-24 FG, but were able to stay in the game thanks to offensive
rebounds and Dallas turnovers - Miami had 9 offensive rebounds on which
they scored 8 points (while Dallas had 2 offensive rebounds and didn't
score on either). Dallas shot 8-16 FG and 4-6 FT. Miami shot 7-9 FT.
Dallas had 5 turnovers on which Miami scores 4 points and Miami had 4
turnovers on which Dallas scored 4 points.
Bosh banked in a jumper and drove for 2 to open the 2nd quarter and then
Mike Miller nailed an open 3-pointer (in rhythm as he had just missed one
from the same spot) to give Miami a 28-21 lead with 10:30 to go as Dallas
missed their first 3 shots. But Stevenson then hit a corner 3 late in the
clock and Chandler hit 2 free throws to keep the game close. A putback by
Joel Anthony gave Miami a 34-29 lead with 8 minutes left, but Stevenson
hit another 3-pointer to kick off 9 straight Dallas points to give the
Mavs a 38-34 lead with 4 minutes remaining. But that would be Dallas'
largest lead of the quarter as the game still stayed close. Wade
converted a 3-point play and Bosh hit a jumper to give the Heat a 45-43
lead with a minute to go. Miami led 47-45 at the half. Miami out-scored
Dallas 26-24 in the 2nd quarter as Miami shot 12-18 FG (but just 1-5
3-pointers) and Dallas shot 8-21 FG including 3-7 3-pointers. Miami shot
1-1 FT and Dallas shot 5-6 FT. Dallas did get their problem under control
of giving up offensive rebounds as Miami had just 1 in the 2nd quarter.
Bosh had 10 points on 5-5 FG in the 2nd and Stevenson had 11 points
including 3-4 3-pointers.
2 free throws by Nowitzki opened the 3rd quarter scoring and tied the game
at 47-47 with 11 minutes to go and the game stayed extremely close over
the next 7 minutes with the largest lead just 2 points and there were 6
ties and 7 lead changes. Dallas led 64-61 with 3:50 left, but Wade drove
for 2, James got a dunk on a break, and James fed Wade for an alley-oop
dunk to give Miami a 67-64 lead with 2:20 left. And a jumper by James
capped the 8-0 Miami run. Chandler ended Dallas' scoring slump in hitting
1-2 FT with a minute to go (and that was the only point scored over the
end of the quarter). Miami led 69-65 after 3. Miami again had a 2 point
edge in the quarter in out-scoring Dallas 22-20 in the 3rd quarter. Miami
shot 8-18 FG and 6-10 FT and Dallas shot 7-17 FG (including 0-3
3-pointers) and 6-8 FT. It was a clean quarter as Miami did not have a
turnover and Dallas had just 1 turnover. Wade scored 12 points including
5-5 FG in the 3rd and Marion had 10.
So, yet again, it all was coming down to the 4th quarter. Nice passing
led to Miller hitting an open 3-pointer and Udonis Haslem hitting a jumper
to give Miami their largest lead at 74-65 with 10:10 to go and Dallas
called timeout. But out of the timeout, Terry got a layup and then a
quick short jumper (after James traveled) and Miami called timeout less
than a minute after Dallas' timeout. Wade got a putback jumper, but
Nowitzki hit 2 free throws and drove for a layup to pull Dallas within
73-76 with 8:05 left. After Wade drove for 2, Dallas made a run as
Nowitzki hit 2 free throws, Chandler got a putback, Terry got a layup on
the break, and Chandler hit 1-2 FT to give Dallas an 80-78 lead as Dallas
scored 7 straight points. Dallas missed, Miami missed, Dallas missed on 2
attempts, Miami missed, Dallas missed, and Miami missed on 2 attempts and
Nowitzki was fouled on the rebound (with Miami in the penalty). Nowitzki
hit both free throws to give Dallas an 82-78 lead with 2:15 remaining.
Stevenson fouled Bosh from behind and Bosh hit both free throws with 1:55
left. Stevenson missed a 3-pointer late in the clock and Chandler missed
the putback with 1:25 to go. Haslem missed a baseliner with 1:10 left.
Terry missed a 3-point attempt and Chandler got the nice rebound and
Dallas set up again. Stevenson missed a 3-point attempt and Miami pushed
the ball and Jason Kidd fouled Wade in preventing the dunk with 30 seconds
remaining. Wade's 1st free throw rattled in, but his 2nd rattled out and
Nowitzki grabbed the rebound and Dallas called timeout as the Mavs led
82-81. Dallas ran some time off the clock and got the ball to Nowitzki.
He saw an opening and drove right for the layup with 14.4 seconds left and
Miami called timeout. Wade drove for the dunk (as Dallas did not
double-team and were focused on defending the 3-point line) to pull Miami
within 83-84 with 9 seconds to go. Terry was intentionally fouled and he
hit both free throws and Miami called their last timeout. Wade fumbled
the inbounds pass, but was able to tap it to Miller, who quickly threw up
a 3-pointer that was way off and that was game. Dallas won 86-83. The
series is tied 2-2.
It was yet another tight game coming down to the final minute - only Game
1 (where Miami built a little distance in a 5 minute stretch in the 4th
quarter) did not come down to the last minute of the game. It wasn't the
prettiest of games with both teams struggling with their shots in the 4th
as both teams connected on less than a 3rd of their shots. Dallas
out-scored Miami 21-14 in the 4th - and it was actually worse than that
for Miami as Dallas out-scored Miami 21-6 in the last 10 minutes of the
game after Miami scored the first 4 points of the 4th to take a 9 point
lead. Miami shot just 5-15 FG in the 4th while Dallas shot just 6-19 FG
including 0-6 3-pointers. But Dallas shot 9-10 FT in the 4th while Miami
shot 3-4 FT. Miami also had 6 turnovers in the 4th on which Dallas scored
5 points (Dallas had 2 turnovers on which Miami scored 2 points). So it
is now a best of 3 series and Game 5 is critical to both teams, with the
winner one win from the championship. For the game, Dallas shot 39.7%
(29-73) FG and 24-30 FT and Miami shot 42.7% (32-75) FG and 17-24 FT.
Both teams struggled behind the arc as Dallas shot 4-19 3-pointers and
Miami shot 2-14 3-pointers. Thanks to their 1st quarter, Miami held a
44-41 rebounding edge including 15-12 offensive (but Dallas had a 31-28
edge including 10-6 offensive in the last 3 quarters). The assists were
low as Dallas had just 13 assists and Miami had 19 assists. Miami had 15
turnovers on which Dallas scored 18 points and Dallas had 11 turnovers on
which Miami scored 12 points. Surprisingly, Miami held just a 40-38 edge
in points in the paint. It was a close game throughout as the largest
lead in the game was just 9 points (and that lasted all of 14 seconds) and
there were 15 ties and 12 lead changes in the game.
It was a well balanced attack for Dallas with 5 players in double-digit
scoring. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry turned it up in the 4th quarter as
the 2 combined for 18 of Dallas' 21 4th quarter points. Nowitzki
struggled with his shot as, after hitting his first 3 of the game, he then
shot 1-10 FG on his next 10. But he was playing with a cold and came
through in the 4th where he scored 10 points. Nowitzki had a
double-double with 21 points on 6-19 FG and 9-10 FT and 11 rebounds. He
did miss a free throw during the 3rd quarter to snap his consecutive free
throws made streak at 39. Terry scored 8 of his 17 points in the 4th
quarter. Tyson Chandler had the other 3 points of the 4th quarter and was
rebounding in the 4th where he had 6 boards including 4 offensive. For
the game, Chandler also had a double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds
including 9 offensive. And he was an iron man as he had to play 43
minutes (including all but 2 minutes in the 2nd half) due to Brendan
Haywood's injury. DeShawn Stevenson got regulated to the bench for the
start of the game, but was on the court for the 4th quarter, where his
defense had a key role in holding Miami to 14 points. All 11 of
Stevenson's points came in the 2nd quarter - and his 3 buckets were
3-pointers. He also had 3 rebounds in 26 minutes. Jason Kidd did not
have a good outing in missing 3 shots (all 3s) and having just 3 assists
and 4 turnovers - though he did also have 3 steals and 3 rebounds in 39
minutes. Shawn Marion had 16 points including 7-12 FG and 4 rebounds in
26 minutes (so coach Carlisle did get Marion's minutes down in this
game). J.J. Barea started and had 8 points including 3-9 FG, 3 rebounds,
and 4 assists in 22 minutes. Brian Cardinal played 7 minutes and missed
his only shot and had a rebound, a turnover, and 2 fouls. Cardinal got
Peja Stojakovic's minutes as Stojakovic has struggled mightily in the
series. Stojakovic only got on the court near the end of the game (2
seconds when Dallas was inbounding the ball and Miami had to
intentionally foul). As mentioned, Haywood was only able to play 3
minutes and had a foul for his only stat.
It was not a well balanced attack for Miami as just Dwyane Wade and Chris
Bosh were in double-digit scoring. Wade was again stellar with 32 points
including 13-20 FG and 6 rebounds. He scored 7 of Miami's 14 4th quarter
points. Bosh scored the first 6 points of the game and had 24 points
total. He also had 6 rebounds. It was not the Big 3 as LeBron James had
a poor offensive outing. For the first time in his playoff career (90
games) he did not reach double-digits. James had just 8 points including
3-11 FG. But he did do well besides the points with 9 rebounds and 7
assists. And the next highest scorer had just 6 points. Mike Miller had
6 points on 2-8 FG (2-5 3-pointers) and 3 rebounds in 15 minutes off the
bench. All the talk is going to James' performance, but Mario Chalmers
also had a poor outing (his first of the series) with just 5 points
including 1-5 FG. he also had 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals in 29
minutes. Joel Anthony had 4 points on 2-6 FG and 8 rebounds including 5
offensive (and 6 of his rebounds came in the 1st quarter). Udonis Haslem
had 4 points on 2-5 FG and 4 rebounds in 21 minutes. Mike Bibby continues
to not do much and missed his only attempt and had 2 rebounds and 1 assist
in 16 minutes. Juwan Howard got in for 3 minutes and had 2 rebounds and 1
foul.
Quotes
Rick Carlisle on Miami scoring just 14 4th quarter points: "Our team
defense has really stepped up in the 4th, which we had to do because we
were playing from behind. One of the big things we had to battle was the
early problems on the offensive boards. Them getting 9 offensive rebounds
in the 1st quarter was killing us. They only got 6 the rest of the game,
which really helped. Look, I mean, they got great players and those are
the guys you have to deal with. And we've got a team system and the
schemes we're using aren't very complex. It's just all about hard play."
Carlisle on Nowitzki: "Yeah, he was struggling. He had a fever last
night. He didn't participate in shoot around today. He was trying to get
rest, because he didn't get much sleep last night. So we knew it was
going to be a bit of a struggle in the 1st half, and we were able to get
his minutes to 17 or something, which was a good sign I thought. And
then the 2nd half, after spelling him early briefly, the game goes at 3
minute stretches. So we're able to get through it. He did everything he
could possibly do. The ball was moving to other people. He was creating
when he could create. The play he made at the end getting the ball to the
rim was a great play. So it's a great win for us and I love the way he
played. Fighting through that was not easy."
Carlisle downplaying his coaching: "Listen, the players play the game.
And the guys you put out there, they got to be ready. This time of year
we've done a lot of shuffling with the lineup because of the matchups.
It's hard. You're talking about 2 guys with great size, dynamic,
athleticism. 3, really, with Bosh. They have other guys that are
underrated athletically. Look, everybody has to be ready and our game has
to be a team game. We're not going to out-run or out-jump these guys.
But we've got to play a sound game, we've got to play a persistent game.
It was tough. We had are a lot of shots that were there that didn't go
tonight. But the guys kept believing. They kept battling. And then the
defense in the 4th held us in and we were able to get out of here alive."
Carlisle: "Look, we're a tough ballclub. We've been tough all year. We
don't have the appearance of a physically bruising type team, but this is
as mentally tough a group as I've ever had. I love this team more than
any team I've had because what they stand for, how they play together,
and how they trust. It can be difficult, because Miami has some guys that
make some breath taking plays. Just to keep playing through that and to
keep playing through situations where you're missing some shots you
normally make, hey, there's some frustration out there, but they stuck
together. They kept their energy up. And they found a way."
Carlisle: "Well, Stevenson off the bench, I knew we had to take Marion's
minutes down. He can't play 43 minutes. We can't expect him to be down
in the stance and picking up James full court and all those kinds of
things. Stevenson was great. About the lineup change, I explained to him
we needed somebody to be ready to come in fresh and battle Wade or James,
whoever happened to be in. If they both happen to be in, you have to get
in and take one of them. Kidd was probably going to have to take the
other. He's a pro. He just kept himself ready all year. The 3s he
knocked down in the 1st half were huge, because we were fighting through
some deficits there. And he was one of the guys that set the tone
defensively for us in the 4th."
Carlisle on Wade: "Well, you know, it's tough. He can knife places and
get places and stay in the air and still finish. In the 1st quarter he
was getting offensive rebounds. Again, just trying to adjust to his kind
of ability level is something that our whole team has to do, because one
guy is not going to stop him. You can't do it. It's not a one man
responsibility. It's a team responsibility. When he hit the shot in
front of our bench where the shot clock was running down, he had to throw
it up there and it went in, that's tough. That's where a team can really
get deflated. But the guys hung in. We just kept battling. That's what
you got to do in this kind of situation."
Carlisle on Nowitzki: "Well, he's one of the greatest ever. He wants the
ball and he wants the responsibility of winning and losing the game. So
we make every effort to put him in those situations. It's not easy,
because teams do a great job of trying to deny him the ball. And in those
situations, you know, Jason Terry has been one of the best 4th quarter
players in the league for a number of years. And Kidd's experience, you
know. We're a team that has to find ways. And generally we want to play
through Dirk as much as we can."
Carlisle on Nowitzki playing sick: "I think this - you got a guy that's 7
foot, 7-1, there's a different kind of toll that it takes on your body
when you're sick. Dirk, he did a great job. Everybody could tell looking
at him that he labored. But during the timeouts he stayed down until the
very end, until the horn blew, and he conserved his energy as best as he
could. And we did as best as we could. But he made a lot of big plays.
He came down with a lot of huge rebounds on the defensive end."
Carlisle on changing the starting lineup: "Well, it changed the dynamics
of the rotation. I thought it helped Marion in large part. Look, there's
a lot of different things you can do. I'm not going to get into every
little thought process. Barea is a guy that we've asked to do this
before. He gives us a different dimension with our team. I thought his
ball pressure in Game 3 was a big factor when we were trying to come back
from a deficit there, and he helps us from the play making side. So I
thought he did a good job. His stats don't look great, but his
penetration helped us and his ball pressure helped us. So we'll see what
we do in Game 5."
Dirk Nowitzki [sniffling through his press conference] on having a fever:
"It wasn't 103, but it was like 101 this morning. I didn't really have a
good night's rest, so it was just under the weather a little bit, but just
battle it out. I think it didn't look good there in the 4th quarter when
we were down 9, but energy and defense really picked us up. Didn't shoot
the ball well again. Had some good looks there in the 4th, but our
defense grinded it out."
Nowitzki on his illness: "There's no long term. I'll be all right on
Thursday. It's a little sinus infection. Hopefully I'll get some sleep
tonight. Take some meds and be ready to go on Thursday. Couldn't really
finish around the rim. Had a couple of good looks today, but just really
no lift. But like I said, the crew was outstanding. I thought JET took
it really upon himself today in the 4th when we were down 9. He made 2
back-to-back plays to get us right back in the game. So he was phenomenal
today."
Nowitzki on his layup near the end of the game: "Really, I was going to
play the clock down, but I saw I had a little opening there. So I just
went for it. I just went for it. Was able to rip through and go to the
right. They really played my left, which obviously the whole league does.
So I was able to rip through and get to my right and finally finish a
layup. I thought I missed 4 or 5 good looks around the rim today. Kind
of bounced around, bounced out. So that was unfortunate, but I was able
to get one in. So that was good."
Nowitzki on playing sick: "You know, this is the Finals. You're going to
leave it out there. Like I said earlier in the series, I think
everybody - it's June. We've been playing on a high level for 8, 9
months. So everybody has a little something going, and this is the
Finals. You have to go out there and compete and try your best for your
team. So that's what I did."
Nowitzki on Wade missing a free throw late in the game: "I mean, that was
a big free throw. First of all, I think we had a bunch of good looks
there. I think JET had one rattling out from the top of the key. He had
one from the right wing, he had one from the left wing. And those are
usually money for us in the 4th quarter. Then I think DSteve [Stevenson]
had one in the left corner, who could have iced it - wide open look. So
we had our good looks. Then Wade had a big run out and JKidd was able to
get to him and foul him and, you know, the first one kind of bounced up
and went in. And the second one, a very fortunate roll for us. It was
kind of in and rolled out and I was able to get the rebound that led to
our last possession. And I was able to get to the rim. Hey, besides Game
1, all the games are like right there. A couple of bounces, a couple of
defensive stops here, and there could have gone either way. So sitting at
a 2-2 right now. Obviously would love to get Game 5 at home before we go
back to Miami. So that's a big game for us on Thursday."
Nowitzki on the defense on James: "Yeah, I think our base did a good job
helping on the screen-and-rolls. So that was big. And obviously, yeah,
we would love to get Game 5 here. Don't want to go to Miami down 3-2,
knowing they have 2 chances to close us out. Big game Thursday. Like I
said, I thought our defense won us the game. To give up 14 points to an
explosive team with LeBron, with Bosh and Wade on one team, if you give up
14 points in the quarter to close it out, I think that's huge. So
hopefully we can carry that defense over into Game 5, and then we'll see
what happens."
Nowitzki: "First of all, I think they killed us on the glass in the 1st
quarter. I think they had like 10 offensive rebounds, or 9, somewhere
around there. And we obviously had to address that. We talked about it
in between 1st quarter and 2nd quarter, how we had to improve in that
area. And then I think after that, we did a nice job. They only had a
couple more, a handful more for the rest of the game. So that was big.
Look, we're not a great rebounding team, so I think we got to have all 5
guys in there battling. Our go-to lineup sometimes is small with Kidd and
JET, 1 and 2. So that means we're small there. We got to have 5 guys in
there battling. We can't have anybody leak out. I think after the 1st
quarter we did a better job protecting the paint and Tyson obviously with
16 boards was phenomenal."
Nowitzki: "First of all, I think Kidd never ceases to amaze me. He can
dominate a game without scoring 1 point. We've seen it the last 3 years
here together, what kind of all-around player he is without even scoring.
How he facilitates, how he defends, and how he runs the show is amazing.
He's been great. I thought J.J. [Barea] had some good looks again. But
he kept attacking. You have to love the little guy. Fearless. Kept
getting in there, had some tough finishes, tough layups that went in. We
need him to attack off the dribble, because he's good getting to the lane.
Once you get to the lane against a team, they really suck in hard and open
some of our shooters up. So J.J. has to keep attacking."
Jason Terry on the change in the lineup: "Those aren't necessarily tricks.
It was a situation we didn't want to give them a steady dose of our
coverages. And, man, Dwyane Wade was having a spectacular game. And to
change up the pace a little bit, we went to the zone. And it worked out
for us. It was successful."
Terry: "The aggression was there for me personally. And I like that that
I was on the attack, which I said I would be. But as far as that relating
into baskets, it didn't really happen for me. But again, if I continue to
get the looks that I'm getting, I'm going to have some success. I'm going
to have to continue to be aggressive and take advantage of my
opportunities."
Terry on what was done different when they found out Nowitzki was sick:
"Nothing different at all. We knew he was sick at shoot around. He
wasn't feeling good. We knew he would be here to play. Dirk has never
missed a game because he had the flu or the cold or what have you. So
there was no concern and there was no adjustment that needed to be made."
Terry on his 4th quarter: "Being aggressive, looking to attack instead of
settling for the jumpshot. His [James] length obviously is going to
bother me if I shoot it in his face, it's going to be contested. So
percentages on those shots are going to go down. But if I can get in the
paint and draw the defense and then make the pass or make the shot, then
that's going to be advantageous for us. That's something I looked to do
tonight."
Terry: "Same mindset. Game 5 is Game 7 for us. There's no other way.
This is the last game in front of our fans at home this season, and we
want to go out with a bang."
Terry: "We have to look at the X-factors. DeShawn Stevenson for one being
taken out of the starting lineup prior to this game. He stayed with it.
His confidence was there. He knew where his shots were going to come.
And the defensive job he's doing in this series is very underrated. He's
having to guard both those guys for the majority of the time. And I think
he's holding his own. He's doing an outstanding job. Tyson Chandler,
what he did on the boards for us was huge. Then getting to the free throw
line, stepping up big and making some big free throws there in the 4th
quarter was key."
Terry: "39% [FG], 21 [%] from 3. Very uncharacteristic of us. It's just
been the way the series has been going. It's not going to be easy.
They're a great defensive team. They close out to the shooters very well.
We have to keep grinding. Because percentages say it's going to fall in
our favor and we're going to knock down some of those shots. As far as
in that timeout [down by 9], we just said stick with it. It's the same
story for us. All 4 of these games have been close. They've been
situations where we have had to come back. We have been down. I would
like to see us play from in front. It's not happening, so we're going to
continue to grind it out."
Terry on Nowitzki: "I wouldn't quite call it that, but hitting that shot
down the stretch was key. It was a similar situation in Game 3. Same one
in Game 2. Iso, free throw line, took it to the rack, got it done. Big
time."
Terry on going to Nowitzki late in the game: "You have 3 of us - him,
myself, JKidd - any one of us at the end of the game in those type of
situations, we're looking for the moment."
Terry on defending James: "LeBron is so difficult. He can see over the
defense. He's having to facilitate a lot of times for his teammates and
get them involved. But we're just trying to get our hands up, distract
him a little bit and when he puts his second hand on the ball, we're
trying to be there to distract him."
Terry on Marion's defense on James: "Phenomenal. Trix is such a key
factor of what we have. He's another one that guards LeBron, he guards
Wade. He has his hands full. He's getting a little bit of help from Kidd
and DeShawn where he can rest a little bit. More important than that,
offensively, the way he played in the 3rd quarter getting to the basket,
getting some dunks, some tip-ins. We need him to do that. When he does
that, we take our game to a different level."
Shawn Marion on the comeback: "We was able to get some stops when we need
to."
Marion: "We battled. It was a back and forth game there for a while. It
seemed like we got some great looks late, and they just weren't going in.
But we stayed aggressive, we stayed persistent. We made sure they didn't
get no buckets either. When they ain't scoring, we ain't scoring, and the
score stayed pretty much the same. We got some big stops at the end and
pulled it out."
Marion on James scoring just 8 points: "We did a great job. I think our
defense has been working pretty well. We just have to make him take tough
shots. You keep him from getting those transition breaks and breakaways,
and having to take tough fadeaways, it's tough to make those shots."
Marion: "I'm just attacking. I'm just doing what I do. I get buckets, if
I get the opportunity to. That's me being aggressive and my teammates are
looking for me. That's what it is. I'm doing whatever it takes to help
this team."
Marion on Carlisle trying to reduce his minutes: "Uh, no, but it is what
it is. I'm a competitor. I always feel like I want to be on the court.
I'll play 48 minutes every night if I have to, if I can. I was a couple
of minutes down today, but that's okay. We got the win and that's all
that matters."
Marion on being 2-2: "We're feeling very good. We have to come in
tomorrow, watch film, of course, see what changes we can make, minor
adjustments, and take it from there."
Tyson Chandler on Nowitzki: "It was tough because he was battling a
100-something fever right now. The doctors tried to get it down, but they
really couldn't keep it under control. But just the effort he was able to
give us tonight is unbelievable, he showed unbelievable heart."
Chandler on Nowitzki: "We all seen him go through walk-through. He was
barely able to talk. Every time he started to speak, he was coughing up,
he was wheezing. So we knew as the supporting cast we really had to step
up and get it for him tonight."
Chandler: "It was huge. Early in the day we knew Dirk was battling a
fever and we knew it was going to be a tough win. But we knew we had to
give it everything we got, because the worst thing we could do was go in
the hole."
Chandler on the change after the 1st quarter (where Miami had so many
offensive rebounds): "Just doing a better job of boxing out. A lot of
times they put so much pressure on you with the dribble penetration that
you find yourself ball-watching and we don't get bodies on guys. Just
turning around, checking guys out, and moving them out so we could get
boards."
Chandler: "It was all about effort. Like I said, we knew that it was
going to be a tough night because with the lineup change and then the way
Dirk was feeling that we were going to have to step up. And we were going
to have to do whatever it took to get the win. I knew my guys would need
more shots tonight. So I tried to crash the boards as well as get out in
the lane and run and get some ready baskets."
Chandler on Wade blocking him: "They're so athletic, it's amazing. Their
shot blockers come from the guard and the wing position, from DWade and
LeBron. So as I'm going to the basket, normally you're looking for the
big guy coming. You're looking for a guard, because he does a great job
of kind of coming in the lane, finding you late. He's [Wade] one of the
more athletic guys in the league."
Chandler on Wade trying to block his shot a 2nd time: "No, no. He caught
me at a good time the first time. The second time I was making sure
either I was going to put the ball on the rim or him."
Chandler on playing high minutes due to Haywood's injury: "Yeah. I knew
Brendan was trying to gut it out for us and just get out there. I knew
that this is the Finals situation, and he really wanted to be out there.
I told him before the game, we need you out there, but if you're not
healthy enough to compete, then don't go out there. I seen that he was
just trying to battle it out, but I told coach, 'You have to get me back
out there. I will play 48 if I need to.'"
Chandler on rushing back into the game to replace Haywood: "Yes, I wanted
to go back in the game. I didn't want them - they go on those big
momentum swings where they put up 15 points in a row, 8 points in the
row."
Chandler: "Just the will to win. We had a tough time making shots
tonight. But our defense kept us in the game. Our scramble, being able
to get our hands on deflections, causing them to be scattered and be easy
baskets. When you're not shooting the ball well, you have to find other
ways."
Chandler: "I just took it personally because this is the Finals and I'm
going to give it all every second I'm out there. When I saw the man
[Nowitzki] walking today, he was barely able to talk, I knew I had to have
a big night. I just told myself what can I do that I haven't been doing
of late. And I felt like I can get out and run, open things up, get on
some screen-and-rolls and open myself up on the glass."
Chandler on Dallas' defense: "They put so much pressure on you. Dwyane
Wade is unbelievable in the pick-and-roll. His hesitation, he keeps you
off balance. He attacks you, when you retreat. We did a good job of kind
of containing him and forcing him into tough shots and shots I felt like
they didn't want to take. Even still he hit some amazing shots. He hit
one shot - I can't remember what quarter it was - with Shawn Marion all
over him. I thought it was a great defensive possession. But it's just
the pressure they continue to put on you. But we did a better job tonight
of kind of stringing them out and making the rotations."
Chandler on Nowitzki playing sick: "I'm just going to remember it's always
better when you win, but the effort for him just coming on the floor. The
average person, you know, has sick days and battling 100-something
[temperature], you know - it's just tough to get out of bed. This guy is
playing against the best athletes in the world and he's putting himself
out there, because if he has a terrible night, he's going to get
criticized about him not making shots and not stepping up in the
challenge. But he put all that on the line and he came out there with his
teammates."
DeShawn Stevenson on playing the zone in the 4th: "I think the zone helped
us. We were rebounding well in it. They weren't making shots. It didn't
work that well in the first game. If we rebound the ball, make them take
tough shots, and stop them from making plays in transition, we'll be
all right."
Stevenson on the 4th quarter comebacks: "I don't know what it is, but we
can't expect to play like this the whole series, getting down 7, 8 points
with 4 minutes to go. We do a great job coming back, but in terms of wear
and tear, it's not good."
Stevenson on James' game: "Dwyane Wade was having the ball go in the
bucket a lot. He's deferring to him a lot. You also have Chris Bosh out
there, so it's tough."
Stevenson: "I think we were passing the ball pretty well, had some plays
that worked. When we're making shots, it's tough to guard us. I think
Jason Terry attacking and finding people, we need him to do that every
game. He was knocking down shots, made some key floaters in the 4th, and
we need that from him."
Stevenson on Nowitzki: "We found out when shoot around came that he was
sick and had a fever. He didn't feel good, didn't go through shoot
around. He came today before the game ready, but he was still quiet. I
wasn't worried about him. He's going to play through whatever. He's our
franchise player. He's playing through a tear in his finger, a lot of
other things. I don't think a fever or cold would stop him from going out
there and playing."
Stevenson on Miami in the 4th: "I don't think they had the shooters out
there and we were rebounding the ball. If we don't rebound the ball, it's
tough to beat them. I think we did that towards the end."
Brendan Haywood on not playing much: "The decision wasn't mine, it was my
body. The swelling is going down, it's getting better flexibility every
day. It's the little things on the basketball court, pushing off. I
can't make athletic plays."
Erik Spoelstra: "Well, that's what this series is about. This series is a
jumpball. Every single game. And they out-played us obviously there in
the 4th quarter. And we didn't take care of our business on both ends of
the court. We did not execute with a level of efficiency or trust, and we
had a couple of breakdowns, even though we had the 8 or 9 straight stops
there in the 4th, we were not efficient enough offensively. So here we
are. We're 4 games into this. Both teams have done what they needed to
do. Both teams have won on the road 1 game. However you get to this
point. And that's what we'll focus on next, Game 5, the swing game."
Spoelstra on James' game: "Well, we'll have to look at the film.
Obviously, we would like to get him involved. He's a very important piece
to what we do. So we'll work to help make it easier for him next game."
Spoelstra on Miami's last play: "It was a couple of different triggers
with guys coming open. Obviously Dwyane was coming back. He might have
been pressured. Mike might have been pressured by Chandler to make the
pass a little bit off point. But, again, it looked like he had an angle,
if it would have been a clean catch."
Spoelstra on James: "No, he's physically fine. I have to do a better job
of making sure he's in positions where he can be aggressive and efficient.
We'll do that in Game 5."
Spoelstra on Dallas' non-Nowitzki players: "Well, they came in ready.
Obviously they've been criticized quite a bit the last couple of days.
That's great fuel, great motivation. We have to stay with our game. We
had enough defensive breakdowns, even though you hold a team like that to
83 or 86 points and 39 field goal percentage. We still could have been
better defensively to give up a couple of easy triggers there in the 2nd
half. Particularly when we went up 9 and it was our game to take at that
point. And we just did not close out on either end of the court. Again,
that's uncharacteristic for us. We'll work the next 2 days to make sure
we're better the next game."
Spoelstra: "We have great respect for their roster and what they've done
all year. That's a great offensive team. We have a proven, tested
defense. But they will challenge you with the spacing and when those guys
are aggressive. And Nowitzki causing 2-on-the-ball in certain
circumstances. But we'll be able to respond. Once we get into work
tomorrow, that's what this is all about. These guys live for these type
of moments. It's a very competitive series. It's a possession-based
series. It's going down to the end virtually every game. It's about
execution and disposition there in the 4h quarter, being able to close
out. So we'll move onto the swing game. And we have a golden opportunity
in the next game. So we'll move on."
Spoelstra on Nowitzki: "He made a heck of a move. He's a great player.
It's a whole lot easier said than done when you're trying to contain
somebody that size and skill level and then the shooting ability. And
then the spacing that they have. I didn't notice anything different with
him. Every time he shoots the ball, you hold your breath. It looks like
it's going to go in, even with our defense. That's proven and tested."
Spoelstra on Wade: "Well, he got his rest. He didn't even play over 40
minutes, I don't think. He's used to logging big minutes. And
particularly now in the Finals when you have days off in between each
game. He wouldn't have it any other way. He's one of the very best 2-way
players in this league. So he shoulders a big responsibility for us
offensively. But just as big on the other end, he made some big defensive
plays as well."
Spoelstra on Miami's 4th quarter: "You have to give them credit, their
defense is good. This is a possession series. Both teams are getting
after it. This is what it's all about. We'll be better in Game 5. And
certainly our efficiency and execution going down the stretch. We have
had a great run in the playoffs. We have had a couple where we've
stumbled. And they have a lot to do with that. Their defense, making
plays. But it's about trusting and moving the ball and being efficient.
We had 6 turnovers I believe in the 4th quarter. We were very
uncharacteristic going down the stretch."
Spoelstra on what he wants from Miami: "Not throwing the ball to them.
That would be a start. And then trusting and moving the ball. That's
when we're at our best. That's when we got the lead, when the ball is
popping and finding the open shooter. Again, you have to give their
defense credit. They were playing a lot of pressure. But we will be
better. And we've proven that we make adjustments and guys are able to
respond as a collective group."
Dwyane Wade: "The rhythm just trying to make plays, maybe get to the
basket, make some things happen. I can't shoot the free throw [that he
missed] any better than I did. It went in and came out. The basketball
gods didn't want it to go in. When you put yourself in a situation where
you practice on that moment, you thought about that moment, you go out
there and you shoot them like you normally do. That's what I did. It
eventually came out. It wasn't because I wasn't ready for the moment or
haven't been in that moment. The basketball gods just had other plans."
Wade on Miami's last play: "We had many different options to look for. I
was denied. I came back off another screen. I saw an opening. Mike
threw the ball and I was trying to get to the opening, probably before I
caught it. That's how I lost it. Just trying to get the ball back before
it went over half court. So obviously we would like better execution.
But it was a great pass. I just fumbled it. I was kind of anxious
because I saw an opening really fast, trying to get there before I caught
the ball. Obviously I would love to have that play back. We would love
to have a lot of plays back. It happened. It was unfortunate."
Wade on his game: "Just trying to make plays. My teammates and my team
count on me to be more than 1-dimensional. So obviously I'm in an
offensive rhythm. It's just one side of the ball. On the other end of
the floor my matchup is to chase Jason Terry around. I have to do that.
If I'm off the ball I try to be more active. Just make plays. Sometimes
it results in blocks or steals or rebounds. It's the Finals. You just
want to make sure every night you leave the court you feel like you left
it all out there. It's not always going to be a positive result, but at
the end of the day, if you feel like you left it all out there, you can be
satisfied with the result. Obviously we didn't win the game. We had an
opportunity. But I felt that we played very hard. We did some of the
things that we wanted to do. Too many turnovers in the 4th quarter as a
team. Myself, I had 2. But we gave our self a chance. That's the only
thing we came here to do."
Wade: "Obviously we had opportunity to win the ballgame. The one thing
about this series, you see no lead is ever safe. When it looks like one
team may be in control of the game, the other team comes back. So that's
why it's a 48 minute game. Obviously their supporting cast did a good
job. They've been getting pounded by you guys for the last 48 hours. So
there's a lot of pride. They came out and played well. They had a lot of
different guys do a lot of good things. We give them credit where credit
is due. But we also learn from it and we will come back and try to get
Game 5."
LeBron James on his game: "Definitely didn't play great offensively. I
got to do a better job of being more assertive offensively, not staying
out of rhythm offensively the whole game. But I think one thing I try to
concentrate is, if I get 2 guys on me, try to make my teammates better,
hit those guys for open looks. They made some great looks, but at the
same time I have to keep myself in rhythm while I'm doing that as well."
James: "You know, with these games every other day, there's not much gym
time you can have. You want to try to stay off your feet as much as
possible. If I feel like I need to come to the gym and get some extra
shots up, I will. Absolutely just to get my shot back going and my
confidence with my shot going. If I feel I need to do that after
practice, tomorrow night I will do that."
James: "I'm confident with my ability. It's about going out there and
knocking them down. When you have the opportunity, you have to knock them
down. Your teammates give you the confidence. They give me the
confidence all year, all postseason. So I have to go out there and make
them count."
James on the 4th quarter: "I don't think anything is commanding in this
series. These are 2 teams trying to figure out a way to make plays down
the stretch. We've seen in this series 7 or 8 point lead is nothing. You
just got to continue to execute offensively, continue to grind defensively.
And put yourself in the best possible chance to win late."
James on Dallas' defense: "I think they haven't changed their coverages on
me. Me just being more assertive, that's what it's about. I got the ball
in the post a few times, and I seen double-teams. I tried to kick it out
to guys and they've made shots for us. At the same time, I can't let that
stop my aggression when they bring 2 on the ball. I still got to make
plays for my team, but also make plays for myself to keep me in the rhythm
of the game."
James on scoring just 8 points: "I think the fact that it happened in a
loss is the anger part about it. That's all that matters to me. If I had
had 8 points and we won the game, I could be satisfied. I don't really
care about that. The fact I could have did more offensively to help our
team, that's the anger part about it. And myself, I'll come back in Game
5 and do things that needs to be done to help our team win."
James: "We've always been a good bounce-back team. Any time we have a
loss or we feel like we could have did better in one game, we've always
been able to bounce back. Individuals have been able to bounce back,
including myself, DWade, and CB [Bosh], and the guys. We understand it's
a golden opportunity. Game 5 we come here and we play as well as we did
tonight, we execute a little better down the stretch, we give ourselves a
good chance to win Game 5 and go home and be able to close out."
James: "Jason Terry is a great player. When he plays well, Dallas plays
well. He's the reason why these guys are in the Finals and that's the
reason why he's been one of the top guys in the 6th Man Award every year,
because he plays well for this team. It's a good show tonight by both
teams. They made 1 or 2 more plays down the stretch than we did. We look
forward to Game 5 and try to come out here with a win."
Chris Bosh: "We didn't take care of the ball down the stretch. We had a
pretty decent lead going in. Against a team like this when they're
playing at home and they're desperate, we had to do a better job of
closing them out. I think they just threw us some different looks. We
didn't get into our offensive sets and we didn't take good shots. It was
either contested jumpers or we were turning the ball over. And that kind
of got the crowd back into it, and it fed their offense."
Bosh on James: "He struggled. Point blank, period. He struggled out
there. We've all done that at times in our careers, and it happens. But
he's a resilient guy. For this team, I think we're back in our comfort
zone - we're desperate again. We're going to have to do a better job.
And the pressure is on again. This is when we're at our best. And for
LeBron, he just has to bounce back and be himself, play his game, and the
great player that he is. You know, we know he'll bounce back. And, you
know, we need him. So everything else will be fine after that. He just
has to go and play."
Bosh on Dallas' comebacks: "It's not a concern. We just have to take care
of the ball. You know what I'm saying? I think we had a lot of turnovers
in Game 2 as well. When that happens, especially against a team like
this, you can't give them continuous looks. They can't be out in the open
court. They're just too good for that all the time. Sometimes we can
stop them, but when they have the momentum going for themselves and they
have numbers - now we're talking about being out of rotation, and now
they're getting wide open 3s and offensive rebounds. So we just have to
take care of the ball down the stretch. We know every game is going to be
close, so we just have to keep that in our mind, go back to the lab, watch
film, break it down and just keep supporting each other. Now we've got to
win 2 games."
Bosh on Nowitzki playing ill: "I've never been out there and somebody
pointed and said, 'He's got a fever.' You know what I'm saying?"
Bosh on James: "When he has laser-like focus and he just is who he is, I
want to see him aggressive again. Not to say that he was passive tonight,
but I think he can turn up his aggression a notch and just really see
where he can attack the creases. Because they're really clogging it up,
and he's not having his usual free rein. They're making him get off the
ball. We have to tighten up our defense. We have to continue to give
them one shot and we've got to get out in that open court and get some
easy baskets ourselves, and really swing the momentum our way, if we're
going to win in this building, whatever day it is, we're going to have to
do that. And you know, that's relief for us. We have to keep our minds
in it. It's ups and downs of the playoffs. It hasn't stopped yet. We
just have to keep going."
Udonis Haslem: "You've just got to find a way to finish it. Give them
credit once again [for] fighting back. We've just got to figure out a way
to finish games. It's going to take a 48 minute effort. Every game -
it's going to take a 48 minute effort."
Haslem on Dallas' comeback: "Obviously we didn't have it in the bag. Then
they went to a little zone later on in the game, maybe took us out of
[our] rhythm a little bit. But we've still got to be able to rely on our
defense and get stops, and that's what it comes down to. And offense
rebounds too. We've got to keep those guys off the boards."
Haslem: "I don't know if we forced shots, we're going to have to go back
and look at the film. It's hard to remember what kind of shots we got
down the stretch. Just know we weren't able to get many of them to fall.
We're going to watch the film tomorrow and figure out what we can do to
get better for the next game."
Haslem: "We've just got to continue to be aggressive offensively. And
regardless if we make shots, we've got to be able to defend, rebound, and
finish possessions. Once again, Tyson Chandler was big on the offensive
boards for them. We've got to figure out a way to keep him off the
boards, finish out possessions, and get the ball."
Haslem: "We didn't think it was going to be easy. It's not what we
expected - we wanted to win the game, but we didn't think it was going to
be easy. And we understand that. [We'll] rest up and get ready for the
next battle."
Haslem: "Every game is just as important as the last. Like I said before,
we play our best when our back's against the wall, when we play like a
desperate team. And hopefully we'll come out with that mentality in Game
5."
Mike Miller on if Dallas' zone affected them: "Not necessarily. I think
we can run some man stuff [against] it. As long as the ball's moving,
we'll find ways to score."
Miller on Game 5: "Oh, it's big. But they're all big. Tonight was huge.
You go up 3-1, you control the series. You can tie it up 2-2. This is
the Finals. This is what it was supposed to be."
Miller on the 4th quarters: "It's tough. Obviously, you've got to give
them credit - they've been resilient. We built a good lead tonight and
lost it, but you've got to give them credit."
Miller on Terry: "He got going a little bit. He's a great basketball
player, he's going to do that. We didn't expect him to be silent the
whole series. Give him credit he bounced back. But we've still got 3
games to play."
Miller: on James "He's got to take what's there. Obviously, as good as he
is, he sees what he sees. That's what makes him special."
2011 Playoffs - NBA Finals: Game 4
Dallas Mavericks 86, Miami Heat 83 at Dallas (June 7)
1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT%
Dallas 21 24 20 21 - 86 .463 .211 .397 .800
Miami 21 26 22 14 - 83 .492 .143 .427 .708
Halftime: Miami 47-45
3rd Q: Miami 69-65
Technicals: Rick Carlisle 0:19 1st
Refs: Monty McCutchen, Greg Willard, Marc Davis
Attendance: 20,430 (sellout)
IL:
Dallas - Caron Butler, Dominique Jones, Rodrigue Beaubois
Miami - Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jamaal Magloire, Dexter Pittman
Dallas Mavericks REB
Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK
Shawn Marion 26 7-12 0-0 2-2 16 2-4 0 2 2 0 1
Dirk Nowitzki 39 6-19 0-2 9-10 21 0-11 1 3 2 0 0
Tyson Chandler 43 4-7 0-0 5-8 13 9-16 1 0 3 1 0
J.J. Barea 22 3-9 0-2 2-2 8 1-3 4 1 2 0 0
Jason Kidd 39 0-3 0-3 0-0 0 0-3 3 4 1 3 1
Jason Terry 35 6-15 1-4 4-6 17 0-0 3 0 2 3 0
Brian Cardinal 7 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0-1 0 1 2 0 0
DeShawn Stevenson 26 3-7 3-7 2-2 11 0-3 1 0 3 0 0
Brendan Haywood 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0
Peja Stojakovic 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 48 29-73 4-19 24-30 86 12-41 13 11 18 7 2
Miami Heat REB
Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK
LeBron James 46 3-11 0-3 2-4 8 3-9 7 4 4 2 0
Chris Bosh 42 9-19 0-0 6-8 24 1-6 1 4 1 0 1
Joel Anthony 28 2-6 0-0 0-0 4 5-8 1 0 4 0 1
Dwyane Wade 39 13-20 0-2 6-9 32 4-6 2 2 3 2 2
Mike Bibby 16 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 1-2 1 0 3 0 0
Mario Chalmers 29 1-5 0-3 3-3 5 0-4 6 2 2 3 0
Udonis Haslem 21 2-5 0-0 0-0 4 0-4 0 0 3 0 1
Mike Miller 15 2-8 2-5 0-0 6 1-3 1 1 2 1 0
Juwan Howard 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-2 0 0 1 0 0
Totals 48 32-75 2-14 17-24 83 15-44 19 13 23 8 5
Go Mavs!
patricia
----
Patricia Bender pbender@eskimo.com
For Trianglons puzzles: http://www.trianglons.com
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